Chasing the Sun

As Raziel died, Garland's breathing ceased with him.

Yet within the lockdown, an uncontrollable High Temperature surged forth. When Garland's heart stopped beating, a thunderous boom erupted from that decaying shell.

Blood silently flowed from his nose and mouth, but it was not cold. Instead, it was hotter than ever before. A single drop scorched the earth, igniting steel, rock, and even the Source Matter flowing through the seals!

The shackles binding Garland had actually become fuel, swallowed by that terrifying High Temperature and dragged into his gaunt body.

The Simulated Souls rapidly disintegrated, merging into the flames and heat, making the lava-like blood burn ever hotter.

With only the slightest leak of blood, an enormous heat source appeared out of nowhere amid the ruins.

This was... Grandmaster Blood Fever!

No, even Blood Fever was merely an outward symptom.

At this moment, countless Alchemy Matrices resembling intricate circuits continuously emerged across Garland's shell, intertwining, overlapping, and converging into a vast and profound mysterious structure like the stars.

This was absolutely not normal.

No, not even a Grandmaster could possibly be like this!

The qualitative transformation of the blood was secondary. Before that came the reconstruction of the internal organs; the extraction, mutation, and reimplantation of the nervous system; even with the highest efficiency, the surgeries performed on the skeleton had to be divided into five stages. Every stage was agony enough to cast any soul into hell. And this was the brutal result.

Now, following the preparations made long ago, the final process began.

—He had turned his own shell into a genuine Alchemy Crucible!

"Garland!!!"

Hedi demanded furiously, "What exactly—are you doing?!"

Doing what I ought to do.

Amid the surging Source Matter, a hoarse voice emerged within Hedi's consciousness.

Doing what an alchemist ought to do.

This was